Method of and machine for coating heels



Feb. 6, 1945.

v. F.- HARRINGTON 2,368,829

METHOD OF AND MACHINE FOR COATING HEELS Filed Feb. 10, 1942 4Sheets-Sheet 1 Feb. 6, 1945. v HARRlNGTON 2,368,829

METHODS OF AND MACHINE FOR COATING HEELS Filed Feb. 10, 1942 4Sheets-Sheet 2 Feb. 6, 1945. v. F. HARRINGTON I METHODS-OF AND MACHINEFOR COATING HEELS 4. Shets-Sheet 5 Filed Feb. 10, 1942 Feb. 6, 1945. v.F. HARRINGTON METHODS OF AND MACHINE FOR COATING HEELS 4 Sheets-Sheet 4Filed Feb. 10, 1942 MvvEA/TUH Patented Feb. 6, 1945 METHOD OF AND-MACHINE FOR COATING HEELS Valentine F. Harrington, Newton, Mass,assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Flemington, N. J., acorporation of New Jersey Application February 10, 1942, Serial No.430,259

19 Claims. (01. 117-104) The present invention relates to a method ofand a machine for applying a coating toa shoe part, and moreparticularly to applying a spray coating to shoe heels. i

In United States Letters Patent 'No. 2,259,450,

granted October 21, 1941, on an application filed ,in the nameof LewisJ. Bazzoni, it is pointed out for the variou reasons set forth thereinthat it is desirable to apply the'coating to the heel by a spray gun,and a shield is sho-wntherein for protecting the upper of a shoe duringthe application of the coating to the heel. VVhiIe the coating may beapplied to the heel by mounting the shoe on the aforesaid shield andmoving the spray gun by hand about the heel, or by holding the spray gunsteady and turningthe shield in front of the spray gun, this is a tiringprocedure and an operator cannot hold the spray gun steady enough overprolonged periods to maintain as smooth and uniform a coating as isdesirable. Spray machines have been developed in which the heel isoscillated in front of a fixed spray gun. In these machines, however,

the coating piles up at the breast'edges of the.

heel during the reversal of the direction of movement of the heel,forming a heavy coating along the breast edges which is of a deepercolor than the remaining surface and producing. a noticeable ridge.Furthermore, because bf the shape of the heel, that is, the variation inthe extent of the surface and radius of curvature of various parts ofthe heel, machines which have simply oscillated or turned the heel upona vertical axis adjacent to a spray gun without regard to the aforesaidvariations in the curvature of the heel have not produced satisfactoryresults.

It is an object of the invention to eliminate these objectionablefeatures and to. coat the heel in such a manner that the coatingmaterialapplied will be distributed substantially uniformly over theentire surface.

Accordingly, invention resides in applying a 1 Y coating by causing aquantity of the coating material to be projected in spray form, exposingthe convex surface of theheel to the spray by turning the heel about anaxis running heightwise thereof, and by moving the line of projection ofthe sprayed coating material from one side of the axis of the heel tothe other in such a manner that the direction of movementof the convexsurface of the heel is always opposite .to the direction of movement ofthe line of .projection of the sprayed coating material.

It has been determined that the. uniformity of the coating maybeimprovedby app ying the coating while maintaining the directionofapplication within certain predetermined iimits with respect to theheel. Thatis, if thellin'eof projection is kept as'near normal aspossible'to the surface of the heel at all times, there will :be a

minimum loss of materialzby recocheting. I

It is another object of the invention to .pro-

vide a machine for carrying out thismethod which will automatically coatthe. heel of .the shoe rapidly'and eiiiciently, thereby relieving theoperator of the duty of holding the spray .gun, .and at the same timemaintain the aforesaid angular relations between the axis of the spraygun and the heel.

The machine, as illustrated herein, includes a shield of the kind shownin Patent No. 2,259,450 and the invention resides in embodying thisshield, which serves as a support for the heel,- inmeans for oscillatingthe support in .front of a spray gun to expose every partof the convexsurface of the heel thereto, and in meansfor moving the spray gunrelative to the support to cause the gun to coat the entire convexsurface ,of-the heel, the movement of the spray and heel supportoccurring simultaneously and in'the same direction of rotation.

The details of the aforesaid machine ,will now be describedwithreference to the accompanying drawin s, in which Fig. 1 is a sideelevation of the entire machine, partly in section;

Fig. 2 is a plan view showing the. position of the shoe at the oppositeextremities of its oscillation; t I

Fig. 3 is a section ontheline III-III of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic showing 'ofuthe rotation of the heel and thedirection of the projected coating material at intermediateandextremepositions; f

Fig. 5 is a section on the line V--V in Fig. 3 showing the cam forreciprocating the shoe support; and

Fig. 6 is a section on the line vI-vrin Fi'g;:3.

spray unit 12 consisting of a pair of spray guns. i

the aforesaid shield and spray unit being mounted on a hollow base 14.The base His provided on the underside of its top portion with a pair ofdepending bearing sleeves l6 and I8 in which are journaled verticallydisposed shafts 21! and 22. The shaft 28 extends through the top side ofthe base It and has fastened thereto a frame 24 to which the shield I isfastened by screws 26. The shield l9, which is shown in Patent No.

2,259,450 and will not be described in detail herein, consists of a,frusto-conical member 23 having a resilient U-shaped opening at itsupper end for the reception of the back part of the shoe S, 'asillustrated. An additional shield 30 is associated with the member 28 toprotect the forepart of the shoe. The support it is reciprocated infront of the spray unit i2 to expose the entire convex surface of theheel from breast edge to breast edge to the projected spray. of coatingmaterial from the spray guns, that is, the heel is oscillated about anaxis d running heightwise thereof, so that a plane passing through theaxis and bisecting the breast will other words, the spray gun isoscillated relative swing substantially 90 about the axis in onedirection and then 90 about the axis in the other direction, startingthe coating operation at a point A at the back of the heel, asillustrated in Fig. 4. Referring to Fig. 4, it will be observed that theheel oscillates from side to side about the axis d, the plane passingthrough the axis d-andbisecting the breast being represented by the liney. It is within the scope of the invention, however, to start therotation at the breast edge B and to turn the heel through 180.

and back again. To provide for this oscillation,

a gear 32 is fastened to the lower end of the shaft 20, the gear meshingwith a rack 34 which is slidably mounted in a horizontally disposed way36 (Figs. 1 and 3) which is formed integral with a'wall of the base 14adjacent to the lower end of the sleeve IS. The rack is held in the way35 by plates l9 which are screwed to the open side thereof at each sideof the gear 32, as illustrated in Fig. 3. The way extends rearwardly ofthe sleeve Hi, as seen in'Fig. 3, to bearings 38, so that the centerline of the rack passes through the center line of a shaft 43 journaledtherein. At the inner end of the rack 3' 5, there is provided a pin 40(Fig. having a roller 4| thereon which occupies a cam slot 42 formed ina cam 44, the latter being fastened to the shaft 46. One of the bearings38 is supported from the side of the base and the other from the top ofthe base, as illustrated in Fig. 3, by a-depende ing web 39. A gear 48is also fastened to the shaft 46 and meshes with a gear 50 which ismounted to rotate freely on a shaft 52, the latter being journaled atoneend in a bearing 54 and at the other end in a bearing box 55 formed atone side of a differential gear box 58. A shaft extending from thedifferential gearbox 58 is connected by means of an Oldh'am coupling 66with a motor 68, so that the shaft 52 is constantly turning. Aone-revolution clutch of the customary type, indicated generally at w,is mounted upon the shaft 52 and is operable to connect the gear 59tothe shaft 52 for rotation. For this purpose, a rod BI is provided, one

end thereof being attached to the clutch throw.

The opposite end of the rod 5| extends down wardlythrough the table uponwhich the machine rests and is attached to an arm 62 pivoted at 6A tosome convenient part of the table. By throwing the clutch intooperation, the rack 34 may be causedto'reciprocate, thereby oscillatingthe shaft and turning the shoe back and forth in front of the sprayunit.

If a heel is oscillated in front of a fixed spray gun, the coatingmaterial will pile up at the breast edges B at opposite sides of theheel bea 'to the heel and in a direction which at any given time isopposite to the movement of the convex surface of the heel and overrunsor moves beyond the breast edge of the heel at each end of its travel sothat the coating is applied to the surface of the heel only while thesurface is in motion. The coating of the heel, in accordance with thisimposed condition, is provided by a spray gun 10 which is-attached to avertical post 18; To permit adjustment, the spray gun is tiltablymounted upon a bolt 79 which is passed through a boss i1 formed on thespray gun, the bolt being threaded into: a split collar '54 clamped tothe post by a bolt 75. The post 18 is fixed to one end of an arm 80. Theopposite end of the,

arm 80 is fixed tothe upper end of the shaft 22 by which the arm, andconsequently the post, is oscillated. The oscillation of the shaft 22'is accomplished by an arm 84, having a slot 36 therein, which isfastened to the lower end of the shaft 22. The arm 84 is connected by apin 92 to an arm 88, also'having a slot 30 therein, the pin 92 beingfastened to the arm 88 in the slot by a knurled nut 9 1. The arm 88 isformed integral with the rack 34 (Fig. 3) and moves therewith in ahorizontal plane. During the reciprocation of the rack 34., the arm 88will be moved horizontally and the pin 92 will cause the arm 84 tooscillate the shaft 22, and consequently the post 18 to which the sprayguns are attached, through a given angle. This angle through which thespray guns turn may be'increased or decreased by adjusting the positionof the pin 92 in the slot 9!? of the arm 88 and should be of suchmagnitude that the spray gun at the extremity of its movement will notproject the coating material on the surface of the heel. Additionaladjustment is also provided by movement of the post 18 in the slot 8 2of the arm 80.

In orderito coat the entire convex surface of the heel with a fixedspray gun, the heel must be turned relative to the spray gun through antour. The radius of curvature heightwise varies.

from a minimum at the attaching face to a maximum at the top lift and,aroundthe' periphery, the curvature varies from the back to the breastedges B at opposite sides of the heel. When a coating is to be appliedto a uniform surface such as a cylinder witha maximum of emciency, thedirection of projection of the spray'of coating material is kept normalto the surface. If

spray gun I0. ,VVhen two spray guns are emfrom the surface, and thistendency becomes more pronounced as the angle decreases. Accordingly,when coating a heel it is desirable to keep this angle as near 90 as isfeasible without complicating the mechanism for turning the heel andspray gun. It was found by experience that a satisfactory angularrelation between the axis of the spray gun and the surface of the heelcould be approximated by oscillating the spray gun with respect to theheel during the oscillation of the heel in the manner prescribed ifcertain angular relations were preserved between the axis of the spraygun and. the plane of the attaching surface and a plane passing throughthe axis of the heel and bisecting the breast thereof. In order tominimize ricochet, it has been found that the direction of application,that is, the axis of the spray gun (represented at :r 'Fig. 1) should besubstantially parallel to the plane of the attaching face of the heel..Practically, this condition can not be attained for each size and styleof heel without unduly complicating the machine. However, if the anglea. (Fig. 1) between the axis a: of the spray gun and a plane p passingthrough the locus of the points of intersection of the line ofprojection and the convex surface of the heel is not greater than 10,that is, if the angle between the axis of the spray gun and theaforesaid plane p is between and substantially the desired conditionswill be obtained from any shoe that it may be necessary to coat. Theaforesaid angular relation between theaxis of the spray gun and theplane p may be obtained by releasing the split collar 14 and moving thespray gun up or down on the post and by tilting the spray gun about thebolt I9. It has also been found that if the angle 11 (Fig. 4) betweenthe axis a: of the spray gun and the plane y passing through the axisrunning heightwise of the heel and bisecting the breast is 75or greaterat the point C, the angle at which the spray strikes the surface of theheel at any given time during the relative movement between the heel andspray gun will not be such as, to produce an undue amount of loss byricocheting. To obtain this relation it, is merely necessary, whenadjusting the spray gun for oscillation through an are sufficient tocarry its cone of projection beyond the breast edge of the heel at eachend of its oscillation, to see that the angle between the axis a: of thespray gun and the plane 11 passing through the axis of the heel andbisecting the breast is at least 75. Adjustments provided by themovement of the pin 92 in the slot 90 and the movement of the post 18are sufficient. It is to be observed that the oscillation of the spraygun and the heel in such a manner that the direction of movement of theline of projected spray and the surface of the heel at any given time isopposite counteracts the tendency for the particles of sprayed materialto ricochet. I

While the coating may be accomplished by employing a single spray gun byturning the head thereof to produce a vertical fan of projected materialwhich will coat the entire surface of theheel, it is found to beadvantageous to use two spray guns because of the great difference inthe area of the surface to be coated at the base and top of the heel,respectively. Accordingly, a second spray gun I2 is mounted above theof-the heel and is; adjusted togive an elliptical or fan-likeprojection, the long axis of the ellipse being disposed horizontally,while the spray gun I2, which is directed at the top of the heel, isadjusted to'give an elliptical projection the long axis of which isdisposed vertically. The second spray gun 12, which, as stated, appliesthe coating material to the upper end of the heel, is provided with asplit collar I4 and is mounted onthe post. 18 above the spray gun I0, asillustrated in Fig. l. The split collar I4, like the collar 14,- isclamped to the post by a bolt I5 and has threaded into one sidethereof abolt I9 which is passed through a boss 11' formed on the spray gun It isto be observed that the between the axis of the spray gun I2 and a planep passing through the locus of the points of intersection of the line ofprojection of the spray gun I2 and the convex surface of the heeladjacent to the toplift may vary between 0 and 10". Thus the conditionsmaintained at the lower part of the heel are substantially duplicated atthe top portion of the heel since the spray gun I2 turns with the spraygun I0, thereby having the same angular movement relative to the heel asthe spray gun 10.

The spray guns I0 and I2 are furnishedwith compressedair, for'atomizingthe coating material, through a pair of conduits 96 (Figs. 1 and 2)connected to a common conduit 91 and with a source of coating materialthrough conduits 98 which are connected to a common conduit with airfrom conduits I06, the latter being connected to a common duct I05.

It has been found that in order to coverthe .heel properly at leastthree coats of material should usually be applied, although the numberof coats may be varied without affecting the scope of applicant'sinvention. .In the present instance three coats are applied and means isprovided for turning the heel three times through of rotation. This istaken care of by the ratio of the gears 48 and 50 and it is evidentthat, :by changing the size of the gears, the number of rotations may bevaried. The valves admitting the coating material to the nozzles'o-f thespray guns are automatically opened and'cl-osed at the beginning and atthe end of the rotation of the heel. The admission of compressed air tothe conduit '9'! is also automatically controlled. To thisend, a cam I08(Fig. 6) is fastened to the gear 50. A cam follower H0 rides on thesurface of the cam I08, the cam follower being fastened to a plunger H2arranged to slide vertically in a sleeve I I4 fastened to the :base I4.Theplunger H2 is urged downwardly by a spring H6 to hold the followerIIO against the cam surface. plate [I8 is fastened to the upper end ofthe plunger and abuts a pair of valve pins I20 which extend from a pairof valves I22 placed in the supply ducts 91 and I05. The surface of thecam I08 is so formed that the valve pins I20 will be held open to admitcompressed air to the nozzle of the guns and compressed air to thepistons I04 which open' the coating material valves during theoscillation of the heel through three times 180 and will then permit thevalve pins to close. In the operation. of the machine, a sh'o'e'S isslipped intothe frusto-conical member 28 of the shield N3, the member 30being placed over the forepart of the shoe. The spray guns l and 12 arethen tilted until the angles between the axes of the guns and the planespassing'through the locus of the points of intersection of the lines ofprojection of the respective spray guns and the convex surface of theheel are between 0 and The angular movement of the spray guns is thendetermined by adjustments of the post in the slot 80 and the pin 92 inthe slot 84 to obtain a maximum angle of at least 75 between the axes ofthe spray guns anda plane passing through the axis of the heel and:bisecting the breast atone extremity of the movement. The clutch 50 isthen closed and the shoe isoscillated in front of the spray guns frombreast edge to breast edge, that is, through 180 of rotation, threetimes, thereby applying three coats of material to the surface of theheel. The'spray guns turn simultaneouslywith the oscillation of the heeland the valves supplying compressed air to the spray guns are held openduring-this time. After the heel has been oscillated three times,

the machine automatically stop and the shoe.

is removed. I a I Having described my invention, what I claim as new anddesire to' secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A method for applying a coating to a heel including as steps creatinga projection of sprayed coating material, presenting the convex surfaceof a heel to the projected spray, oscillating the heel about an axisrunning heightwise thereof to expose the entire convex surface thereofto the spray, and moving the line of projection of the spray from sideto side of said axis and always in a direction opposite to the movementof the convex surface of the heel.

2. A method for applying a coating to a hee includin as steps creating aprojection of sprayed coating material, presenting the convex surface ofa heel to the projected spray, oscillating the heel about an axisrunning heightwise thereof to expose the entire convex surface thereofto the spray, and oscillating the line of projection of the spray fromside to side of the axis of the heel, the oscillation of the heel andthe line of projection of the spray being simultaneous and so related.that the directions of movement of the line of projection and of thesurface of the heel at any point are opposite.

3. A method for applying a coating to a heel includin as steps creatinga projection of sprayed coating material, progressively changing thedirection of projection laterally through a given'angle, holding a heelwithin the limits of the angular change in the direction of theprojected spray, and oscillating the heel laterally in directionsopposing the lateral change of direction of the projected spray. 4

4. A method for applying a coating to a heel including as steps creatinga projection of sprayed coating material, holding a heel within therange of the projected spray, oscillating the heel and oscillating thespray gun progressively to change the direction of projection through agiven angle sufficiently great to cause the line of projection of thespray to move beyond the heel surface at each side thereof, theoscillations of the spray gun and heel being such that the tip of thespray gun andthesurface of the heel always move in opposite directions..5. A method for applying a coating to a heel including as :st'epscreating :a' projection of sprayed coating materiaL'holding a heelwithinthe range of the projectedspray, oscillating the heel and oscillatingthe spray gun progressively port oscillatable about an axis runningheight wise thereof, a spray gun mounted for oscillation about an axisadjacent to the heel support and parallel to the axis thereof, means foreffecting oscillation of the heel support in clockwise andcounterclockwise directions about its axis, and means for simultaneouslyeffecting movement of the spray gun in similar clockwise and counter.,

clockwise directions of rotation about its axis.

'7. A machine for applying a coating to the convex surface of a heel,comprising a spray gun for projecting a spray of coating material, meansfor supporting said spray gun for oscillation, a support for a heeladjacentto the spray gun, said heel support being oscillatable, meansfor vefiecting oscillation of the heel support, and means connecting thelast-named means to the spray gun support for effecting oscillationthereof to cause the tip of the spray gun to move from side to side ofthe heel'support and always in a direction opposite to the direction ofmove,- ment of the surface'of the heel, the amplitude of theoscillations being such that the tip of the spray gun moves beyond thesurface of the heel during each oscillating movement.

8. A machine for applying a coating to the convex surface of a heel,comprising a heel sup- .port for holding a heel in a position to beturned from breast edge to breast edge about an axis running heightwisethereof, a spray gun, a support for said spray gun adjacent to the heelsupport, said support being movable about a center between the axis ofthe heel'support and the spray gun, means for turning the heel about itsaxis, and means for simultaneously turning the spray gun support to movethe spray gun bodily in an arc of such magnitude that the'tip of thespray gun moves beyond the breast edge of the heel at each end of itsmovement 9. In a machine for spraying a heel, a support for th heel,means for oscillating said support, a spray gun, a support for saidspray gun, said spray gun support being oscillatable about .a centerlocatedbetween the center of rotation of the heel support and the spraygun, means on said spray gun support for adjusting the spray a gun abouta horizontal axis so that the angle between the axis of the spray gunand a plane passing through the locus of the points of intersection ofthe line of projection and the convex surface of the heel is not greaterthan 10, and means for oscillating the spray gun support to move thespraygun bodily in an are relative to the heel support during theoscillation of the heel support. I

10. In a machine for spraying a heel, a support for the heel, means foroscillating said heel support to turn the heel about an axis runningheightwise thereof, a spray gun, a support for said spray gun mountedfor rotation about a center between the axis of rotation of the heelsupport and the spraygun, and means for oscillating the spray gunsupport relativeto theheel support to move the spray gun in an arc aboutthe heel'during the oscillation of the heel supi port, the bodilymovement of the spray gun being the axis of the heel and bisecting thebreast of the heel is at least as great as 75.

11. In a machine for spraying a heel, a support for the heel, means foroscillating said support to turn the heel about an axis runningheightwise thereof, a spray gun, a support for 'said spray. gun mountedfor rotation about a center located between the axis of rotation of theheel support and the spray gun, means on said spray gun support foradjusting the spray gun about a horizontal axis so that the anglebetween the axis of the spray gun and a plane passing through the locusof the points of intersection of the line of projection and the convexsurface of the heel is not greater than and means for oscillating thespray gun support relative to the heel support during the oscillation ofthe heel to move the spray gun bodily in an are about the heel,thelength of the arcuate movement of the spray gun being such that theangle between the line of projection of the spray gun and a planepassing through the axis of the heel and bisecti ng the breast of theheel is at least 75 at either extremity of the oscillation of the heel.

12. In a machine for spraying a heel, a support for the heel, means foroscillating the heel support to turn the heel about an axis runningheightwise thereof, a spray gun, a support for the spray gun, means foroscillating the spray gun support relative to the heel support, andmeansfor increasing or decreasing the degree of oscillation of said spray gunsupport relative to the heel support. I

13. In a machine for spraying a heel, a movable support for the heel, aspray gun, means for oscillating said heel support to turn about theheel from breast edge to breast edge in front of the spray gun, amovable support for said spray gun, means for oscillating the spray gunsupport relative to the heel support as it oscillates, means foradjusting said spray gun on the support to and from the heel support,and means for tilting said spray gun on said spray gun upport.

14. In a machine for spraying a heel, an oscillatable support for theheel, a. spray gun, means for-oscillating said heel support to turn theheel from breast edge to breast edge in front of the spray gun, and anoscillatable support for said spray gun, said means for oscillating saidheel support oscillating said spray gun support.

15. In a machine for spraying a heel, an oscillatable' support for theheel, a spray gun, means for oscillating said heel support to turn aheel from breast edge to breast edge before said spray gun, anoscillatable support for said spray gun, and adjustable means connectingsaid spray gun support to said heel support for oscillation.

16. In a machine for spraying a heel, an oscillatable support for theheel, a pair of spray guns, oscillatable means for supporting said sprayguns adjacent to the heel support, ,one of said guns being opposite thelarge end of the heel and the other opposite the small end of the heel,and means for simultaneously oscillating the heel support and spray gunsrelative to each other and'in the same direction of rotation.

17. In a machine for spraying a heel, a shaft, means for supporting theheel for rotation with said shaft, a spindle parallel to the shaft,means for supporting the spray gun on said spindle, a second shaftbetween the first shaft and spindle, means for supporting the spindle onthe second shaft for movement in an are about the first shaft, and meansfor adjusting the spindle radially of the shaft.

18. In a machine for spraying a heel, a pair of parallel shafts, meansfor supporting the heel for oscillation with one of the shafts,means'for supporting a spray gun for oscillation with the other of saidshafts, means for oscillating said shafts, and means for varying thedegree of oscillation of one of said shafts with respect to the other.

19. In a machine for spraying a heel, a pair of parallel shafts, meansfor supporting the heel for oscillation with one of said shafts, meansfor supporting a, spray gun for oscillation with the other of saidshafts, reciprocable means, means on said one shaft cooperable with thereciprocable means to produce oscillation of said shaft, an arm on saidother shaft, and means connecting said arm to the reciprocable means foroscillation thereby, said last-named means being adjustable to vary thedegree of oscillation of said other shaft.

VALENTINE F. HARRINGTON.

